Khary Penebaker describes himself in his X profile as a “Speaker. Advocate. Father. I build things and fight for what matters. Gun violence prevention is personal. Sneakerhead. Round Earther.”
Good to know.
He also ran as a Democrat — very unsuccessfully against a well-established incumbent — for a congressional seat in Wisconsin back in 2016.
Now, after a string of spectacular defeats for the cause of civilian disarmament in America, he seems to have decided that the best strategy is to go back to gun control default settings first principles, trying to sell whoever will listen to him on just a few basic “common sense” ideas that will obviously save lives and of course everyone can get behind that. Because we all just want to be safe. Right?
What guys like Penebaker seem to forget is that this is 2026. Some of us out here live in states where the “common sense” types have been in full control for years. Decades even. That means we know that what he’s selling is a steaming load of bullshit.
California, for instance, has (and this is just off the top of my head):
1. Bans on most common handguns
2. Bans on common rifles unless they have stupid compliance “features” (and now they want to ban those too)
3. Concealed carry permit application fees as high as $2,000 in total expense…and that’s aside from the significant time investment involved including a police interview, a two-day training course, Livescan fingerprinting, gathering personal references, and sometimes even a psych exam in some counties
4. An 11% tax on sales of guns and ammo
5. A 10-day waiting period to buy a gun, even if you already own other guns
6. Bans on carry in many types of public places, even if you went through all the trouble to get an expensive, time-consuming carry permit
There are tons more restrictions, hurdles, and roadblocks the books. Those are just a few examples.
Maybe those on the gun control side, people like Penebaker, would be a lot more successful selling this stuff in 2026 if it were actually true that all they want is a few things like background checks, safe storage, and red flag laws. Maybe.
Byut that isn’t true. It never was. We’re not stupid. We know what’s down that road. We’ve seen what blue states have done and are still doing, even now. Time to re-think your strategy, Khary.
Kostas Moros is Director of Legal Research and Education for the Second Amendment Foundation.